'I act this way because why?' Prior knowledges, teaching for change, imagining new masculinities
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Date
2015
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scandinavian University Press
Abstract
This article begins by outlining some of the prior knowledges brought by
undergraduate students to an introduction to gender studies class in the Women's
and Gender Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. I
show that, at the beginning of the course, students clearly understand gender to refer to
women and femininity, imagining femininity (but not masculinity) to be responsive to
social change. I suggest that, in the face of these prior knowledges, it is important to
focus on masculinity as performance, as a cultural artefact and one that is deeply
harmful to South African men. Student experiences of this teaching and learning
suggest that it offers possibilities for imagining men as allies and beneficiaries - rather
than enemies - in the struggle for gender equity.
Description
Keywords
Prior knowledges, Gender, Teaching, Feminism, Masculinities, Men
Citation
Clowes, L. (2015). 'I act this way because why?' Prior knowledges, teaching
for change, imagining new masculinities. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 10(2): 149-162